Review: Pemberton Music Festival reboot ends on high note

Lou Barlow, bass guitarist for American rock band Dinosaur Jr. performs at Pemberton Stage at the Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014. [PNG Merlin Archive]Mark Yuen
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J Mascis, guitarist and singer for American rock band Dinosaur Jr. rifts on guitar as his hair sways in the wind at Pemberton Stage at the Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014. [PNG Merlin Archive]Mark Yuen
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Fans are soaking up the performance by American rock band Dinosaur Jr. at Pemberton Stage at the Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014. [PNG Merlin Archive]Mark Yuen
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Lead singer Gordon Gano of American rock band Violent Femmes delivers their classics to their fans at Whistler Stage at the Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014.Mark Yuen
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American rock band Violent Femmes delivers their classics to their fans at Whistler Stage at the Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014. [PNG Merlin Archive]Mark Yuen
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American rock band Violent Femmes delivers their classics to their fans at Whistler Stage at the Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014. [PNG Merlin Archive]Mark Yuen
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American rock band Violent Femmes delivers their classics to their fans at Whistler Stage at the Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014. [PNG Merlin Archive]Mark Yuen
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The famous rapper Snoop Dogg delivers his smooth verses to his fans at the Pemberton Stage at Pemberton Music Festival, on July 19th, 2014. [PNG Merlin Archive]Mark Yuen
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The famous rapper Snoop Dogg delivers his smooth verses to his fans at the Pemberton Stage at Pemberton Music Festival, on July 19th, 2014. [PNG Merlin Archive]Mark Yuen
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The famous rapper Snoop Dogg delivers his smooth verses to his fans at the Pemberton Stage at Pemberton Music Festival, on July 19th, 2014. [PNG Merlin Archive]Mark Yuen
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Fans lounge on the grass for Canadian musician Matthew Good’s performance at the Mt. Currie Stage at Pemberton Music Festival on Sunday.Mark Yuen
/ Vancouver Sun

The fans are immersed in Baauer’s music at the Bass Camp Stage at Pemberton Music Festival on Sunday.Mark Yuen
/ Vancouver Sun

Canadian electronic icon deadmau5 performs his set on an elaborate set with visual projections, as he headlines at the Pemberton Stage at the Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014.Mark Yuen
/ Vancouver Sun

Festival attendees relax and grab a bite at Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014.Mark Yuen
/ Vancouver Sun

Canadian electronic icon deadmau5 headlines at the Pemberton Stage at the Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014.Mark Yuen
/ Vancouver Sun

Canadian electronic icon deadmau5 headlines at the Pemberton Stage at the Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014.Mark Yuen
/ Vancouver Sun

A young festival-goer enjoys the sun at Pemberton Music Festival on July 19th, 2014.Mark Yuen
/ Vancouver Sun

PEMBERTON — The reboot of the Pemberton Music Festival was a marathon.

It started out of the gate swinging, hit a wall Friday, pushed through it, picked up steam once again Saturday, and savoured the burn of the race to the finish into late Sunday.

The whole weekend could be summed up via the three headliners’ performances.

Friday, industrial rockers Nine Inch Nails gave a haunting, ear- and eye-popping experience featuring big hits Closer and Head Like A Hole, as well as new material Copy Of A Copy, as the news of 21-year-old Regina engineering student Nick Phongsavath’s death on the festival’s campground began circulating. It was an eerie, spooky soundtrack for what was happening in the background, an incident that still hasn’t been fully illuminated and remains under investigation.

Fans, to paraphrase NIN frontman Trent Reznor, came back haunted the next day, but by the time of Saturday headliner Deadmau5’s set, the

party was in full swing, the festival having spent the day reassuring the crowd that the site was safe. Trekking through the site you rarely felt threatened or unsafe, although hordes of drunk and high fans could be seen running from stage to stage, police and security keeping a close eye on the proceedings.

Deadmau5 brought with him his full visual display and an electronic dance music feast for the eyes and ears. The crowd, ready to just let loose, did so under short bursts of refreshing rain coming down the slopes of the majestic Mt. Currie in the background.

Beyond bopping under his trademark mouse head and arguably pushing a few buttons triggering his stage design and his video game-style jams, Deadmau5 didn’t move much, but he proved that EDM is here to stay as headliner material.

At press time on Sunday hip-hop duo Outkast were set to deliver a two-hour set worthy of an international festival closing act, with rappers Big Boi and Andre 3000 ready to regale 20,000 or so fans revisiting hits from their heyday in the mid-’00s such as Hey Ya!, Ms. Jackson and The Way You Move.

Their set and that of critically acclaimed hip-hop/R&B artist Frank Ocean, whose performance was moved to late Sunday night after a quick schedule re-shuffle, would top a weekend that signalled the new Pemberton Music Festival is likely here to stay.

Artistically, the festival struck a fine balance between big name headliners and a solid undercard of 90 acts featuring many fan favourites, including Pemberton 2008 veterans The Flaming Lips, alternative rockers Soundgarden, rapper Snoop Dogg, viral DJ Baauer (whose Sunday set peaked with his massive hit the Harlem Shake); Vancouver indie bands Yukon Blonde and Gold and Youth (who played a spellbinding set Saturday afternoon), and rocker Matthew Good; and comedy from the likes of Doug Benson, Bob Saget, and Natasha Leggero.

Sunday was the best day to get a hearty dose of comedy, with Brian Posehn, Saturday Night Live’s Jay Pharoah and The Trailer Park Boys keeping things light.

Other strong performances Sunday included singer/guitarist Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent, taking a turn on the main stage in the early evening to perform a set filled with artsy posturing and intricate fret work obviously inspired by a recent collaboration with Talking Heads’ David Byrne.

Earlier in the day, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer extraordinaire Daniel Lanois wowed a handful of faithfuls gathered to see him and Pastor Brady Blade team up with Shreveport, Louisiana’s Hallelujah Train choir to sing heartfelt gospel classics. It was a powerful and moving performance.

But the star of the weekend was the popular sweep of electronic dance music and hip-hop, with rappers Kendrick Lamar, Chance The Rapper, Tyler The Creator and EDM powerhouses RL Grime, Girl Talk, and Canadian electro pop princess Grimes snagging the younger segment of the crowd intent on partying hard.

Logistically, the new Pemberton Music Festival was a well-oiled machine, with new grass maintenance reducing the amount of dust in the air (a major issue in 2008), low traffic thanks to a new set of road exits for fans, artists and production crew, shuttles between Whistler and Pemberton for daily ticket holders, and a layout featuring five stages that worked rather efficiently, save for a few performance overlaps causing a volume war between artists.

That said, the Pemberton crew did a great job with sound and stage all around.

On the downside, campers complained of long treks between parking and site and having to carry gear across the road by manoeuvring the festival’s stairs-heavy pedestrian overpass. For some fans having spent hundreds of dollars on their weekend, it was a bit of a deal breaker.

Is the 2014 Pemberton Music Festival worthy of repeating in 2015? Yes.

But it will be up to music fans and their wallets to decide what happens next.

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